The 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition winners

Australian based photographer Martin Pugh has claimed the top prize in the
Royal Observatory’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition
for the second time, after originally winning the accolade back in 2009. As
well as securing the £1,500 top prize, his image takes pride of place in the
exhibition of winning photographs opening at the Royal Observatory Greenwich
on 20 September.

Pugh impressed the judges in this year’s competition with the depth and
clarity of his winning shot depicting the famous Whirlpool Galaxy (M51). The
image combines incredible detail in the galaxy’s spiral arms with the faint
tails of light that show M51’s small companion galaxy being gradually torn
apart by the gravity of its giant neighbour; a closer look also reveals more
distant galaxies beyond.